Report on Police Actions in October Fatal Accident Presented To Police Commission Tuesday

Members of the Windsor Locks Police Commission were discussing their next step Tuesday after hearing an attorney’s presentation on police department officials actions after an October 30 accident claimed the life of a 15-year-old student.

Frank Rudewicz was hired earlier this year to investigate police officials actions and prepare a report on his findings. The report was completed last week, released to the public on Monday, and Rudewicz gave a presentation Tuesday.

Before the commission went into executive session, chairman Neal Cunningham said the commission has to discuss and decide what actions may be taken against whom.

Residents at the special police commission meeting gave mixed reactions to the report. Some said the 82-page report didn’t answer all of the questions they had.

The report is critical of the actions of newly-retired Police Chief John Suchocki after the accident. The report says that in Suchocki’s efforts to keep the investigation “clean” he mistakenly ceded his own control to the North Central Municipal Accident Reconstruction Team. That action violated Windsor Locks’ own policies.

Rudewicz said Tuesday the report faults Suchocki because he was the supervisor at the scene and he should have taken more control at the scene to make sure everything was investigated.

“We find fault with the chief for not making sure others did their task,” Rudewicz said.

The report is available on the Town of Windsor Locks website.

Michael Bracken, a former Windsor Locks police officer, said the report has many conflicts throughout with what people told Rudewicz and that muddies up the state’s prosecution in the case.

Bracken said there had been a lack of leadership in the department for years and the commission did nothing about it.

Maria Gianuzzi said she was disappointed in the reports’s conclusions and believed that the officers on the scene were not interested in fully investigating an accident in which a fellow officer was involved.

“I don’t think this report is going to put this issue to rest,” Gianuzzi said.

Two things that were critical to the investigation were handled badly, the report says. A delay in looking for and finding a broken glass with beer in it, and the failure to have Michael Koistinen submit to a blood or breath test.

“The tasks were delayed or did not occur primarily due to the lack of leadership and poor incident management, specifically on the part of Windsor Locks Police Chief John Suchocki, Granby Captain David Bourque and to a lesser extent, Team Leader Granby Officer Jerry Dowd,” the report states. “The void of leadership violated various policies and significantly contributed to the lack of critical communication between parties and agencies.”

Fifteen-year-old Henry Dang was killed when he was hit by a car driven by Michael Koistinen, then an off-duty Windsor Locks police officer, who state police allege was drinking for several hours before the accident.

Michael Koistinen, 25, of Suffield, is charged with first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, misconduct with a motor vehicle, and attempt to tamper with evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Nov. 23 in Hartford Superior Court.

Robert Koistinen is a Windsor Locks police sergeant and has been on administrative leave with pay since the accident, his annual salary is $73,385. He pleaded not guilty in January to charges he interfered with the investigation of  the Oct. 2010 fatal accident in which his son, Michael, was involved.

The Windsor Locks Police Commission fired Michael Koistinen, a probationary officer, on Dec. 8, 2010.

Rudewicz said all of the emergency personnel on the scene and at the hospital said there was no indication that Michael Koistinen had been drinking.

Rudewicz said the same witness that told police that she saw Michael Koistinen throw something out of the car window also could be heard on a 911 tape saying she thinks he was drunk. That information was never communicated to officers on the scene which could have changed the mindset of those investigating, he added.

Karen Giannelli said she was there for Henry Dang and that he is missed. She said everyone shouldn’t forget that a well-loved student was killed.

“I’m so sick of hearing about Michael Koistinen,” Giannelli said.

Cunningham said the commission won’t forget about Henry Dang.

“Everyone on the commission feels the greatest tragedy is that we lost Henry Dang,” Cunningham said.

When asked why the report was released days after Suchocki retired last week, Rudewicz said the report was released last week because that is when he finished it. He said he did re-interview some people after he heard Suchocki was retiring to see if there was any information those people didn’t relay because they thought the chief would still be around.

Other highlights of the report:

Windsor Locks police officials unnecessarily delayed the media press release about the accident for at least 16 hours. The report says many members of the community were aware a high school student had been killed. 

“Chief Suchocki did not release any details of the accident until approximately 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, 2010, sixteen hours after the accident,” the report says. “We were informed that there were numerous postings on Facebook and MySpace, particularly from the high school community, about the death of the victim.”

Police officials said the delay was because more information had to be gathered from one officer. Another reason given was the fear of threats to Michael Koistinen, but his name had been not released to the public, the report said.

Not until a meeting at 5 p.m. on October 30 between Suchocki, Capt. Chester DeGray and Sgt. Robert Koistinen was the decision made to issue a press release. Koistinen was at the meeting to give him a “heads up” that his son’s name was being released.

“We found that the delay caused undue scrutiny and supposition and allowed rumors about a cover-up to fester,” the report states.

Rudewicz said Tuesday there was no evidence of a cover up. He said that there too many emergency agencies involved that independent access to Michael Koistinen to allow for a cover up to protect him.